July 25, 2003 - Long Island, NY

Forecast: 91 degrees high humidity

Road Condition: Good. I–95 N from Baltimore, MD through Maryland, Delaware, and Philadelphia, PA to the New Jersey turnpike into Manhattan, NY then out to Long Island on I-495E

Fuel: Super Unleaded $1.68

Miles Traveled: Baltimore, MD to Long Island, NY: 255 (Total 6,747)

Bike Update: Running good

Road Trip Log Update: We thought it would be a good idea to stop by Brian’s HD in Langhorne, PA to get the best route into New York City. They did a great job of getting us prepared, and even showed us the option of a sidecar. As we headed East on I-95 E ….. Let the tolls begin! When traveling in this area plan to bring anywhere from $20-$50 depending the destination. Tolls range from $1.00 to $7.00 per vehicle. The roads were in fair condition with minimal construction. The more we traveled Eastbound, the more aggressive the traffic became. From a motorcycle training course a few years ago we learned a technique called “S.I.P.D.E.” (pronounced: Sip-dee). SIPDE means Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute and a motorcyclist has a 6 second reaction time to any potential threat. Riding on the New Jersey Turnpike into Manhattan we were on constant alert with a quick eye on the rearview mirror. Working the SIPDE technique on I-95 East felt like being trapped in a video game. With the high humidity, by the time we reached the Holland Tunnel we were soaked in sweat. There was a large amount of traffic trying to get into the city for the Friday evening and the wait for the tunnel took over an hour. With the concrete, high rises, congestion , and smog, the heat was trapped all around us. We paced ourselves with the shadows of semi-trucks for shade and used our Camelbacks. Since we love riding through tunnels on the bikes, the experience was worth the wait. Our friend Jill Doherty was waiting for us at Ground Zero and we connected by cell phone to find one another. The devastation at the site is hard to describe and pictures could never capture the feeling of being there. In 1999 on our Coast to Coast trip we were able to see the World Trade Center buildings from the ferry that took us over to the Statue of Liberty. The two towers were hard to miss as they peaked out of the Manhattan skyline. In 2001 during our road trip attempt at Alaska, the USA borders were closed down due to the terrorist attacks. Now on our road trip in 2003 we stood at a cyclone fence and looked at a massive crater with other silent onlookers. The sounds of the city pulsated around us with life rebuilding itself. We were grateful that we made this one of our stops, so that we now have a better understanding of what happened to our country on 9-11-01. As our dedicated New York Ambassador, Jill recommended that we wait a little while until nightfall so that we could ride through Times Square. Jill gave us great directions to navigate through the city then to her home on Long Island. As she headed off for the train, we found our way to Broadway Avenue and 34th Street. The only way to describe riding a motorcycle though the ¼ mile strip known as Times Square is to compare it to Las Vegas on steroids. Cruising through at 10 MPH we caught an eyeful but there was no way to see it all. We caught the Mid Town (Queens) tunnel at a good time as we headed out for Long Island. We were greeted at Jill & Eric’s home with a big assortment of New York style pizza and the opportunity to recap the day with good friends. Our plans included catching the ferry to Connecticut on Saturday, however, Jill and Eric are convinced we need a day off after the adventure of riding through the city.

Building at Ground Zero	Our friend Jill shows us Manhattan
Special message at Ground Zero	Taking a test drive
Getting directions at Brian's Harley Davidson
At Ground Zero	Riding through Times Square
Click to see July 24, 2003	Click to see July 26, 2003